That time Raf Simons designed a furniture collection

Raf Simons' career began with industrial design and not fashion. When Simons graduated in 1991 from the LUCA School of Arts in Genk, in fact, he presented as a thesis project a collection of furniture called CORPO that remained largely unknown until recently, when the Belgian designer Max Reynders posted them on Grailed to show them to the world.  The mysterious furniture, which includes various cabinets from the CORPO collection, but also a sofa called AGENA produced between '92 and '93 in collaboration with the Ziggurat gallery,  had been entrusted by Simons himself to Reynders' father, his friend and university colleague when the designer moved to New York in '99. Reynders' father passed them on to his son in 2010. As their thirtieth birthday approached, Reynders felt the need to reveal to the world the existence of these works. 

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

Contacted by nss magazine, Reynders told the story of the collection, which was also the protagonist of an interesting essay published in the online magazine Archive.PDF at the end of May. Here, in the words of their owner, is the story of Raf Simons' first furniture collection:

Raf Simons made CORPO as his graduation project in 1991 in SHIVKV Genk, Belgium. Corpo is a relation about the human body. Raf talks about the inside structure and outside supplement known as skin. He refines this by talking about the dressing up, body ornaments and body decoration. The central idea is the relation between the human body on one side and the incarnation of the product on the other. Every product can be seen as a body with an inside and an outside. His final study Corpo has been 7 different pieces in total. With names like; Protection, Beauty, Female Body, Male Body, Ornament, X-Ray, Second Skin. All of these are build around the concept of the Human Body. 

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

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Very interesting is that it is precisely in this collection that the Raf Simons logo appears in its definitive graphic form – as if to say that the identity of the designer, or at least its fundamental core, have remained substantially unchanged in the last thirty years and that the type of research and reflection carried out by Simons was born with CORPO. The collection, among other things, was presented through a black VHS with an underground and pirate-y appearance that prefigured, in the back of the head, that raw, underground and unfiltered mood that defines the designer's first 90s collections.

To better understand the genesis of these works we interviewed their owner, Max Reynders, who told us about the background of the creation of CORPO and where he would like to see it in the future.

Do you think these pieces follow a particular inspiration or design style? How would you define them?

To me, it looks quite basic/minimalistic with a mix of modern art. It was already the ‘Raf Simons’ style in 1991 as we know him from his later fashion statements.

There were seven original pieces in the collection. How many of those were produced and how many of those still exist today?

Raf Simons made 7 pieces in total, seven n° one’s. We do own 5 of them. We have no clue where the two remaining CORPO’s are, or who owns them, or if they still exist today. We’re quite sure there was never a reproduction or a series. It all stayed with the n° one's.

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

How do the pieces of the Corpo collection relate to Simons’ later work in fashion?

Every CORPO is created as a reflection of clothing in cultures. It all has a functional option, that is what clothing is created for. Clothing is seen as protection, function and expression. So the CORPO’s can be seen as Raf Simons his first solo work towards fashion. The logo used on CORPO’s is still his logo which is groundbreaking.

Why do you think Simons was so secretive about it? Was it just because the collection was a university project?

Raf Simons has always loved the mystery, he looked up to Margiela who was also a man of mystery. Also, he was and still is an introvert, he doesn’t want too much attention and expresses his feelings through his art of creating. A common thing for an artist to do. Why speak loudly when you can express it through a form of art. And secondly, Raf started very successfully with fashion in 1995. From 1991 till 1994 he tried furniture, but in those days Belgian furniture design was quite unknown and very hard to communicate. On the other hand, the six of Antwerp did put Belgian fashion on the world-wide-map in the eighties. So why should he put more energy into the difficult world of furniture design after 1995? He did find his way into fashion and from 1995 on that was his channel for creativity. So I don’t know if he was secretive about his furniture past, I believe he did put all his energy into fashion since 1995. 

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

@rafisimonscorpo

After appearing on Grailed, the pieces caught the public’s attention. Does the attention they received say something about the appeal of Simons as a designer? 

The appeal of Raf Simons his work can reach a wide range of fanatics, from a younger to an older generation Raf has made his way to the top for a reason. He can make minimalistic pieces but also play with a younger approach with hoodies and graphics. Also with the main focus on youth culture, music and movies, his work can speak to a wide audience. So I understand why it gets attention on Grailed, it’s unseen art, a part of fashion history, unique, and most of all it’s Raf.

Were there any actual buyers for the piece that was put on sale?

We have some interest from Grailed and/or our recent interview with Archive.PDF. These are mostly about art collectors or fashion elitists who will not buy it on Grailed. This is totally understandable, and it also wasn’t our main goal to sell it on Grailed. We did choose Grailed to give the Corpo's awareness. And if we sell on a long-term it will be very important for us where and to whom the pieces will go. They deserve a place in a museum and/or in an important private collection. But we would prefer a public place where more people, or even better, everybody, can enjoy CORPO.